This year’s Nastia Liukin Cup Series will be comprised of 20 meets, each of which will qualify one senior gymnast (aged 16 or older) and one junior (15 or younger) to the 14th Nastia Liukin Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 24.
This week’s meets included the Brestyan’s Las Vegas Invitational, the Metroplex Challenge, the Dragon Invite and the Legacy Elite Classic.
Brestyan’s Las Vegas Invitational
Winner (senior division): Kailin Chio
Winner (junior division): Oaklie Deputy
Former elite standout Kailin Chio put on a strong show to qualify to her second NLC after appearing at the Cup as a junior in 2018. The LSU commit scored 9.900s on both vault and floor. The big score on her Yurchenko one and a half came one week after she was rewarded with a perfect 10.0 for the vault.
Southern Utah signee Brinlee Christensen finished only half a tenth behind Chio and scored her first perfect 10.0 on vault.
The competition was won by Utah commit Avery Neff, who scored a huge 39.600. She posted career highs on beam and floor, as well as in the all-around. Since Neff is already qualified to the Cup, her results don’t feature in the official NLC qualifier results.
Oaklie Deputy, in only her first year as a level 10, qualified as a junior. She had a low score on vault because she still competes just a Yurchenko layout, but she showed excellent form, difficulty and composure on the other three events and scored career highs on bars and floor. On bars, she showed off incredible lines. On floor, she competed a difficult front double twist, as well as a rare front half twist to back one and a half.
Kailin Chio
Scores: VT: 9.900 | UB: 9.400 | BB: 9.725 | FX: 9.900 | AA: 38.925
- Club: Gymcats
- College: LSU
- High School Graduation Year: 2024
- CGN Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Notable Results: 2021 junior GK U.S. Classic and U.S. championship all around silver medalist; 2021 Pan American Games junior champion on floor
- Previous NLC Appearances: 2018 (junior, 15th)
Oaklie Deputy
Scores: VT: 9.150 | UB: 9.500 | BB: 9.550 | FX: 9.725 | AA: 37.925
Videos: FX
- Club: Olympus
- High School Graduation Year: 2026
- Notable Results: 2022 L9 Region 1 all around champion
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
Metroplex Challenge
Winner (senior division): Kamila Pawlak
Winner (junior division): Julia Nehmer
2022 NLC junior champion Kamila Pawlak qualified to her third consecutive Cup and her first one as a senior. She scored a career high 39.050 in the all-around for four solid performances, which included such difficult skills as a Yurchenko one and a half on vault and a full-twisting double pike on floor.
Ohio State signee Courtney McCann finished second with a career high 38.850.
Julia Nehmer, in the class of 2027, had a strong all-around performance to notch the junior qualification. She excelled especially on beam, where she displayed a beautiful Onodi and stunning leaps, as well as on floor, where she showed great precision on her landings.
Kamila Pawlak
Scores: VT: 9.825 | UB: 9.850 | BB: 9.525 | FX: 9.850 | AA: 39.050
- Club: Metroplex
- High School Graduation Year: 2025
- Notable Results: 2022 NLC junior champion; 2022 national all around silver medalist
- Previous NLC Appearances: 2022 (junior, 1st); 2021 (junior, 12th)
Julia Nehmer
Scores: VT: 9.500 | UB: 9.450 | BB: 9.700 | FX: 9.725 | AA: 38.275
- Club: Metroplex
- High School Graduation Year: 2027
- Notable Results: 2022 Region 3 all around champion
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
Dragon Invite
Winner (senior division): Haley Mustari
Winner (junior division): Lavi Crain
Haley Mustari edged a rather weak field to qualify to her first NLC. Mustari scored uncharacteristically low on vault and beam, but the scores do not reflect her potential. Mustari is capable of perfect 10.0s on both bars and beam, as well as of an all-around total of 39.100.
Lavi Crain, in the class of 2029, is the youngest gymnast to qualify to the Cup thus far this year. This was Crain’s third ever meet as a level 10 and posted career highs on bars and in the all-around.
Haley Mustari
Scores: VT: 9.000 | UB: 9.775 | BB: 9.175 | FX: 9.575 | AA: 37.525
- Club: Dynamo
- High School Graduation Year: 2025
- Notable Results: 2022 Oklahoma state champion; 2022 Region 3 and national bronze medalist in the all around
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
Lavi Crain
Scores: VT: 9.050 | UB: 9.350 | BB: 9.200 | FX: 9.050 | AA: 36.650
- Club: GAGE
- High School Graduation Year: 2029
- Notable Results: 2022 L9 Region 4 all around champion
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
Legacy Elite Classic
Winner (senior division): Taylor DeVries
Winner (junior division): Maddie Stewart
Oregon State signee Taylor DeVries qualified to her first NLC with a strong performance and had career highs on floor and in the all-around.
Maddie Stewart, in the class of 2026, notched the junior qualification. She struggled on bars and floor but posted a big 9.700 on vault for her new Yurchenko one and a half. Although she’s still working to find the landing, Stewart performs a beautifully flared vault à la Jocelyn Moore.
Taylor DeVries
Scores: VT: 9.350 | UB: 9.700 | BB: 9.575 | FX: 9.800 | AA: 38.500
- Club: Legacy Elite
- College: Oregon State
- High School Graduation Year: 2023
- CGN Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Notable Results: 2022 Illinois state silver medalist in the all around; 2022 Region 5 all around champion
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
Maddie Stewart
Scores: VT: 9.700 | UB: 9.075 | BB: 9.475 | FX: 9.075 | 37.325
Videos: BB
- Club: Legacy Elite
- High School Graduation Year: 2026
- Notable Results: 2022 Region 5 bronze medalist in the all around
- Previous NLC Appearances: N/A
READ THIS NEXT: Nastia Liukin Cup Series: Week 5
Article by Talitha Ilacqua
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